Catalysts based on platinum and other precious metals are highly efficient for harvesting fuels and/or electrons from electrochemical interfaces. Efforts have been focused on the development of electrocatalysts that can meet the demands for high performance while maintaining a minimal precious metal content and cost. However, high content of these costly materials combined with their insufficient activity and durability have been obstacles for their broad deployment in high energy density technologies, such as fuel cells and metal-air batteries.
Alloying platinum with non-noble metals represents an effective approach for the reduction of platinum content in electrocatalysts by increasing the intrinsic activity of the electrocatalysts. While nanoscale electrocatalysts provide substantially enhanced utilization of precious metals, they continue to lack the requisite activity and durability to enable large-scale commercialization of these technologies.